MUSE 355 String Pedagogy Handbook

Name: Maddie Edwards

Date: 3/14/2021

Required Topics
#1 Violin and Viola Instrument Set-Up
Definition: Both instruments can be played while standing and sitting. While
standing, their feet should be shoulder-width apart. While sitting, they should be on
the front of the chair while sitting up straight. Before playing in shoulder position,
beginning students should first learn guitar position. This is where the body of the
instrument is tucked under the right arm. This allows students to focus on good
left-hand position before worrying about holding the instrument up. Students
should learn the names of the parts of the instrument before playing in shoulder
position. Knowing the terminology is helpful when figuring out where to place the
instrument. Students should have a sponge or shoulder rest attached to the
instrument to help with placement and posture. The left hand should form a C-
shape between the index finger and thumb. The hand should be placed near the top
of the neck by the first finger tape (if they have one). There should be a little bit of
space between the neck and the left-hand.
1. Everyone stand like the Statue of Liberty! Hold the body of your instrument
in your left hand. Watch what I do. Stand up tall and hold the instrument up
high in the air. Now turn your torch upside down. Gently place it on your
shoulder and then place your jaw on the chin rest. Do not worry, the torch
magically turned back into your instrument when you set in on your
shoulder; you will not catch on fire.
2. Today is Thanksgiving and you get to be the dining table! Rather your
instrument is the table. Now that we have our instruments placed nicely on
our shoulders and jaws on the chin rest (which should really be called the
jaw rest), we need to set the table. What would happen if you had a wobbly
table or a table that was not perfectly flat? That’s right, all the dishes would
 fall off and create a mess! We don’t want to have to clean that up, so let’s
make sure that we are standing/sitting up nice and tall, and our table
(instrument) is parallel to the ground.
3. Violins and violas, today we are going to perform a new trick. This trick
involves holding the instrument with no hands! Get set up in shoulder
position. Make sure that the shoulder rest is on your shoulder and that your
jaw is on the chin rest. Once you feel that you are secure, you should be able
to let go with your hands and hold it only with your jaw and shoulder. Be
very careful while doing this and hold your hands under it just in case it
falls.
4. We are going to set up our left hand today. Everyone form the letter C with
your hand, like this. Get into shoulder position and place your left hand on
the neck by your first finger tape. Now everyone make sure that there is a
little bit of space between your hand and the neck. This little space is a
mouse hold and a baby mouse lives there. We always want to make sure we
have enough space in our left hand so that we do not squish the baby mouse.
You can name your baby mouse if you would like.
5. When we have our left hand on the instrument, we need to make sure that
we have a straight wrist, like this. Now watch this. This is called pizza wrist
and I see a lot of you doing it. It is called pizza wrist because it looks like we
are carrying a pizza. Now we do not want to carry pizza, we want to play
violin. So, make sure that your wrist is relaxed and straight.

#2 Cello Instrument Set-Up

Definition: The cello should be played while sitting down. Students should sit up
tall at the front of their chair with their feet flat on the ground. The endpin on the
instrument should be taken out and adjusted to a proper length for the player. A
rock stop can be placed on the floor to keep the instrument in place. The body of
the instrument should rest against the student’s chest with the scroll behind their
left ear. Their elbows should be out and away from the sides of the instrument.
1. While standing up, the scroll of your cello should be the same height as your
nose. This means that you will have to adjust your end pin. Do this now.
Make sure that you are sitting down. Adjust the end pin and then check to
 see if it is the same height as your nose. If your endpin has notches in it, it
would be helpful to remember which one you need to pull it out to.
2. Jack-in-the-Box! When I say this, you should pop out of your seat quickly
like a jack-in-the-box. Cellos, this means that you need to be able to stand up
quickly with your instrument. This means that you should not grip the
instrument with your knees. You also need to have your feet flat on the
floor. This gives up an opportunity to reset our posture and everyone should
stand up for jack-in-the-box.
3. Pretend that you are holding a can of coke in your left hand. Make sure that
your fingers are curved and that your thumb is next to your second finger.
Now place your hand on the neck of your cello with that shape in mind.
4. Do any of you have a friend the lives far away that you do not get to see all
the time? When you finally see them again, you usually run and give them a
big hug and maybe you move around a little bit. Your cello is your friend
that you have not seen for a long time. Give them a hug and rock back and
forth. Make sure not to squeeze your friend too tight, you want them to be
able to breathe.
5. Imagine a big grizzly bear with giant claws. Cellos, take your left hand and
make a bear claw with it. Make sure that your claws are curved. Now put
your bear claw on the neck of the instrument.

#3 Double Bass Instrument Set-Up

Definition: Basses can play while standing or while sitting on a stool. While
sitting, the player can rest their left foot on the stool and the right foot should be on
the ground. While standing, both feet should be flat on the floor. The endpin
should be adjusted so that the nut is about the same height as the forehead. The
instrument should lean into the body of the player.
1. While standing and playing bass, you should look like the Leaning Tower of
Pisa. The instrument should lean into you a little bit. Here is a picture of the
tower. Now try and replicate that with your bass.
2. Basses, point to your forehead. Now point to the nut of your instrument.
They need to be the same height while playing. Gently set your bass down
and adjust your end pin.
 3. With your left hand, make a giant bear claw. Similar to how the cellos did
earlier, but you are an even bigger grizzly bear. So, your claws should be
even further apart. Make sure your index finger is pointing upwards. Now
put your hand on the instrument.
4. Your bass is tired and wants to take a nap. You have to support the bass as it
leans into you to take a nap. Make sure that you are standing up tall and that
you are stable enough to support it.
5. We are going to learn the bassist salute, which is a secret that only bass
players can know. Take your left hand and hold it in front of you. Spread out
your fingers and curve them. Put your thumb behind your second finger and
let it rest upwards. Extend your index finger backwards. This is the secret
bassist salute.

#4 Violin and Viola Bow Hold Definition: The bow hold is formed with the right
hand. The thumb should be bent and placed on the stick in the spot between the
bow grip and the frog. The middle finger and ring finger should rest over the frog.
The index finger should move to rest on the grip. The pinky finger should be
curved. It should be placed on the stick of the bow before the end screw.
1. Before trying the bow hold out on the bow, the students will first get pencils.
The bunny or fisherman story can be used to set up bow holds on the
pencils. Pencils are lighter and easier to hold and will not break if they are
dropped. This also allows them to practice their bow hold while not having
to get out their bow.
2. Form a bunny with your right hand while holding the stick of the bow in the
left. Your thumb should bend to form the bottom teeth. Your middle and
ring fingers should rest over the thumb to form the top teeth. Your index
finger and pinky should be up to form the ears. Your bunny is really hungry,
and they see a carrot and take a bite. Place the bottom teeth (thumb) next to
the frog and let the top teeth (middle and ring) go over the frog. After that
big meal, the bunny is really tired, so it goes to sleep. Rest your ear (index)
on the bow grip. The other ear (pinky) should rest on top of the stick next to
the end screw.
3. Today we are going to learn a story about a fisherman. There is a fish in the
water hiding behind a rock. Bend your thumb and put it next to the frog.
 This is the fish. The fisherman is sitting on a dock with his legs hanging off.
Put your middle and ring finger over the frog. These are the fisherman’s
legs. The fisherman has a fishing pole in the water. Put your index finger on
the grip. This is the fishing pole. The fisherman also has a bucket of bait
sitting next to him. Put your pinky on top of the stick. This is the bucket
sitting next to him on the dock.
4. We are going to play some bow games. To practice our bow holds. The first
one is saltshakers. Gently shake your wrist to put salt on your food. The next
game is stir the soup. What kind of soup do we want today? Move your arm
and wrist around to stir the soup. The next game is windshield wipers. We
are in the car and it raining. We need to wipe the rain away so we can see.
While moving your wrist, feel the weight shift from your index finger to
your pinky. The last game is the spider crawl. Carefully climb up and down
the bow while keeping a good bow hold.
5. Up like a rocket, down like the rain. Back and forth like a choo choo train.
Round and round like the great big sun, we land back home and the day is
done. While saying this poem as a class, students will practice their good
bow hold while moving their bow to the poem. Once the poem is done,
students check their bow hold for bent thumbs and curved pinkies.

#5 Cello and Bass (French) Bow Hold Definition: To hold a French bow, the
thumb should be bent and placed between the frog and the grip, and the rest of the
fingers should be over the frog and stick. The main difference between this bow
hold and the violin/viola bow hold is where the pinky is placed. The pinky should
not be on top, but it should rest over the bow.
1. The students will get pencils to practice their bow holds on first. This is so
that it is easier to hold and there is no chance of them dropping and breaking
their bows as they are trying to learn their bow hold.
2. Cellos and basses, I want you to stand up and pretend that you are a zombie.
Put your hands out in front of you and make sure that they are relaxed. Oh
no, your left arm fell off. Now you just have one zombie hand. Now bend
your zombie thumb. This is how you should hold your bow. Let’s try it now.
 3. Pretend that you are hanging off a cliff. Your bow is the cliff, and your right-
hand fingers are hanging off. Watch my bow hold. Hold the stick with your
left hand while you prepared to hang your fingers off the cliff.
4. Cellos and basses can do the same bow games as the violins and violas.
They should also maintain a good bow hold and check for bent thumbs and
make sure that their other fingers are gently draping over the bow.
5. Up like a rocket, down like the rain. Back and forth like a choo choo train.
Round and round like the great big sun, we land back home and the day is
done. While saying this poem as a class, students will practice their good
bow hold while moving their bow to the poem. Once the poem is done,
students check their bow hold for bent thumbs and make sure that the other
fingers are hanging over the bow.

#6 Détaché Definition: This is a normal bow stroke which is produced by placing

the bow on the strings and pulling it back and forth. The bow hair should be
parallel to the bridge and be on the strings in the middle between the fingerboard
and bridge.
1. Get out your rosin and bow. Carefully tighten your bow like I showed you.
Just give a few turns. You want to have a smiley face in your bow. Make
sure you do not turn too far and get a frowny face. Hold your rosin in the left
hand and the bow in the right, place the bow hair on the rosin near the frog.
Upper strings should hold the rosin near the left shoulder and cellos and
basses should hold the rosin in front of them. Now gently pull the bow
across the rosin a few times. Basses should only do this in a downwards
direction. Now let’s practice our bow directions together. Basses, please air
bow on the up bows. Say the bow directions with me – Down, Up, Down,
Up! The class goes through a bunch of different bow directions through
echoing. Now let us try on our instruments.
2. Pretend that you are a metronome. We need to keep a steady and even beat
so that the orchestra can stay together. Let’s all look at this metronome! Isn’t
this so cool, it’s a real device and not an app! Look at how it evenly goes
back and forth, changing directions for each beat. Start by doing a steady air
bow back and forth. Now count out loud to keep the beat as we bow. This
 can then be transferred to the instrument. Students can continue to count and
keep an even bow stroke while changing with each beat like a metronome.
3. We are going to outer space today. Where do you guys want to go? Really,
we want to go to Jupiter? That’s a gas giant and there is nowhere for us to
stand. Oh well, we will figure it out, let’s get ready to blast off. Make sure
that you have a good bow hold. Watch what I do. Now let’s try together.
Rocket bowing is done in the air without the instrument. The students will
practice taking off and then landing back down with their rocket bow.
4. It’s a nice day outside, so maybe we should go on a walk. Actually, we
cannot do that, but I have something even better for us to do! Everyone get
in a line and let’s walk around the classroom. Now look at your feet and be
careful not to trip. See how you change feet each time, this is like our
détaché bow stroke. We change the bow direction for every note.
5. Today we are going to saw some wood. Before we get out our instruments, I
want everyone to pretend that they are sawing a log with their right hand.
We want a nice even cut, so make sure not to go too crazy with your sawing.
Now get out your bows and practice that same motion. Look at me as I
demonstrate. Now get out your instruments and let’s try to play. Remember
that you have to put a little bit of weight into your saw to get it to cut. This is
the same for the instruments, you need to have a little bit of weight on the
bow to get a good sound as we bow back and forth.

#7 Staccato Definition: This bow stroke is created by leaning the index finger
(right hand) into the bow stick to create an accent and a pause in the sound while
bowing.
1. Practice opening a door. Turn your right hand counterclockwise to open the
door. This is the motion you should use to play staccato. This is pronation
which should be used to create a crisp staccato sound.
2. There are invisible rests when you play staccato notes. There should be a
break in the sound while playing. To do this, you need to stop your bow a
little bit so that the sound stops.
3. When you touch something that is too hot, your hand usually jumps back
quickly. This is similar to a staccato stroke. There is a short burst of sound
 that then stops. Your sound should be the same length as touching
something hot.
4. Staccato is different from a brush stroke and a spiccato stroke. The bow
should stay on the strings while playing and not bounce off.
5. Playing staccato is like playing a game of hot potato. Once you catch the
potato, you throw it to the next person. When you catch the potato, that
correlates to your staccato sound. It should be short and quick. When you
throw the potato, that is the silence that follows the sound.

#8 Brush Stroke and Spiccato Definition: These bow strokes are created by
bouncing the bow on the string. It is easiest to control near the balance point. A
brush stroke uses more bow to achieve a wider sound. A spiccato stroke
1. Think about jumping on a trampoline. Now pretend that the trampoline is
your instrument, and you are the bow. Every time you land on the
trampoline, you bounce away. So, the bow should bounce away from the
strings.
2. Draw the letter U or the letter V with your bow. Try to make this shape
while playing. This will help you play a brush stroke (U) or a spiccato stroke
(V). The bottom of the letter, either U or V, is where the bow is on the
strings and making sound. The sides of the letters are where the bow is
bouncing.
3. Imagine that you are bouncing a basketball. It is important that you are in
control of the ball, or it will bounce away. While playing a brush or spiccato
it is important that you are in control or your bow might bounce away. This
means that you should not bounce too much and not travel too far away from
the strings.
4. Imagine that you are skipping rocks over the water. The rock lightly touches
the surface before bouncing away and landing again. For this bow stroke,
imagine that your bow is the rock skipping on water.
5. It is important to have a relaxed wrist and hand to play a good brush or
staccato stroke. Take a deep breath and tense up your muscles. Now breathe
out and release that tension. If you have tension in your arm, then it will be
difficult to bounce the bow.
#9 Louré Definition: This is a slurred bow stroke that has a pause between notes.
The notes are long, but separate. They still sound legato, but with a quick break in
the sound.
1. Everyone hold up two fingers and place them on your neck or wrist. Feel
your pulse and the blood moving through your body. How do you think we
can create a sound on our instruments to replicate this? Get out your
instruments and bows and find the open A string. In one bow stroke, gently
pronate to create a pulse in your sound.
2. Imagine gentle waves rolling across a body of water. We are going to create
waves in our sound. In one bow direction, gently turn your right hand into
the bow to create a wave in the sound.
3. Students should practice pronating before moving the bow. They should
place the bow on the string near the balance point. While gently pronating,
students should watch as the stick depresses into the hair.
4. A heart monitor is a good analogy for louré bowing. There is a line that
spikes with each heartbeat. The spike on the monitor is like the pronation
that must be done to create the pause in the sound. The continuous line
reflets the slurred bowing.
5. Like a staccato bowing, pronation needs to be used. The students practiced
turning a doorknob to learn the staccato stroke. This can be applied to louré
bowing. Students should practice opening a doorknob, but not all the way so
that it is not as pronounced as the staccato sound.

#10 Slurred Staccato Definition: This bow stroke has two or more staccato notes
played in one bow direction. To create slurred staccato, the player needs to pronate
each note and release to create the separation.
1. Slurred staccato is like driving a car down a straight road with stop signs. In
one direction, the car drives and come to a stop at each stop sign. In order to
create a full pause in the sound, the car (bow) needs to come to a complete
stop.
2. Everyone look at the clock in the room. Watch the second hand as it moves
around. Watch as it moves in one direction and makes little stops. This is
 how we play slurred staccato. In one bow direction, the bow needs to stop to
create a pause in the sound.
3. We are going to go climb a mountain. Its very tall, so we will need to take
breaks as we climb up and as we climb back down. Climbing up the
mountain and down the mountain is like doing an up bow and then a down
bow. To create the breaks as we climb, we need to pronate and stop the bow
to stop the sound.
4. It is important for the breaks in the sound to happen at even intervals across
the bow. This is so that it sounds even and so that we do not run out of bow.
You can visually divide the bow into parts, so you know where and when to
stop.
5. It is important to have a straight bow while playing slurred staccato.
Students should practice pronating in different parts of the bow while
making sure that it is straight.

#11 Retake Definition: This done with the bow. The bow is usually at the tip and
they player takes it off of the strings and resets it back by the frog. This allows the
player to start with a down bow.
1. Everyone draw a circle with your right hand in a counterclockwise motion.
Now just do half a circle. Now, get out your bow and try it. This is called a
retake. We use this to reset our bow direction.
2. Who has a cat of dog at home? Okay, now let’s talk about our pets for two
minutes. Wow, you have five cats, that’s awesome! Now back to class.
When you pet them you do it like this, right? The teacher demonstrates. You
do not want to mess up their fur, that would be mean! Everyone pretend to
pet your cat or dog. Now pick up your bow and check for a good bow hold.
Can we pet the cat, but with our bow this time. Please do NOT go home and
pet your cat with your bow, it will not go well. Let’s try it on the instrument,
everyone watch me first. This is called a retake. We use it to reset our bow
direction.
3. Show me how you would peel a banana. You peel one side and then move
your hand back up to peel the next. This is like retaking your bow while
 playing. You play one note and then lift your bow back up to play down bow
again.
4. Let’s practice different sized circles for our retakes. For a faster piece when
you gave less time to retake your bow, your circle will need to be smaller.
This is so that you can set up in time. For a slower piece when you have a lot
of time to retake, your circle can be a bit bigger because you have more
time.
5. A retake can be done with any part of the bow. Most of the time we retake to
start down bow, but this in not always the case. Let’s practice a retake to
start up bow.

#12 Hooked Bow Definition: This is similar to slurred staccato in that pronation is
used. To be a hooked bow, the rhythm has to be long and then short. Multiple notes
are played in one bow direction.
1. Hooked bowing can be compared to metrical feet poetry. A foot in poetry is
a repeating rhythmic unit based on word syllables. One of the metrical units
is called a trochee, which is a long syllable followed by a short syllable. This
would be a good opportunity for music and English classes to collaborate.
2. To play a hooked bow, we need to control how much bow is used. We are
all going to be managers in charge of our company, which deals in bow
distribution. How much bow should we give to the long note and how much
bow should we give to the short note? We should probably use a little more
bow for the long note and use less for the short note.
3. For hooked bowing, students can think of a fishing hook with a barb on it.
The curve of the hook is long, and the bard is short. This correlates to
hooked bowing with a long note followed by a short note.
4. Before playing a hooked bow, it would be beneficial to practice takadimi
rhythms that are long and then short. Ta-mi is a good rhythm to practice.
The students could also move around the room with the rhythm as the say
the takadimi to better feel the long note followed by a short note.
5. Pronation is also used during notes for hooked bowings. This is a skill that
we can continue to work on.
#13 Slur Definition: Two or more notes in one bow direction.
1. Everyone pick an open string. We are going to practice trills with open
strings and first finger. Try it now. Notice how your bow goes in one
direction for all of those notes. This is called a slur.
2. Let’s practice our D major scale. Play one note per bow. Then we will try to
play two notes in one direction. Let’s just try to play D and E in one bow.
Now E and F#. Now let’s try to play the whole scale.
3. We are going to play some brain games today before we work on a new type
of bowing. Stick out your index finger on your left hand and your thumb on
your right. Now switch. If this is difficult, try it slowly. This gets both sides
of your brain working as your hands perform different tasks. Now try this
exercise again, but this time with the thumb and pinky. For slurred bowings,
are hands are not always going to match. To play two quarter notes with a
slurred bow, your right hand is going to be doing a half note while your left
hand is doing quarter notes.
4. Slurs should sound like legato singing. The notes should be smooth and
connected. Singers take a deep breath and then sing multiple notes.
5. Think about moving your hands underwater. It is very smooth, and your
arms move more slowly than they would out of the water. Slurred bowing
creates a smooth sound. It is also important to move your bow slower so that
you can fit in multiple notes in one bow direction.

#14 Tremolo (Bow) Definition: This is fast and unmeasured rapid successions of
the bow on the string.
1. Have you ever gone outside in the snow on a really cold day? You know
when your mom yells at you and says to make sure you have on gloves and a
hat and a scarf. But you are thirteen and you are way too cool to be seen
wearing an ugly winter hat, so you go outside without them. And then later
you get really cold and start shaking and you wished you had listened to
your mom, but you CANNOT let her know that she was right. So, you stay
out and suffer, shivering in the cold. Maybe it’s just me. So anyways, we
are going to learn a new bow technique today. The sound of this bow
technique reminds me of shivering in the cold. Watch this. This is called
 tremolo. Everyone say tremolo with me. Now let’s try it. Make sure you are
at the very tip of the bow. Now wiggle your arm really fast. Isn’t that just
neat! This is what the notation for tremolo looks like. Now everyone look at
the new piece I just gave you and see if you can find it. Wow, look at that,
there it is in measure 34.
2. How many of you ate a bunch of candy on Halloween? You know how you
feel after you eat too much sugar. You have a lot of energy and you can’t sit
still and keep fidgeting? It might feel somewhat like this. The teacher
demonstrates tremolo bowing. Explains what tremolo is and has the students
imitate it on their instrument.
3. Everyone make a train sound with me. The train is just starting to pull out of
the station, and it is starting to get faster. Now let’s try to imitate that on our
instruments. Watch what I do. Everyone play on the D string and make sure
you are near the tip of the bow. Students then start slowly and then gradually
speed up their bow so that they are playing tremolo.
4. Everyone get out your bow and form a good bow hold. Pretend that you are
shaking salt onto some food. What food do you guys want to put salt on?
Hold your right arm so that you can focus on moving your wrist while doing
this. Now, for some reason we need a lot of salt on our food. Try doing salt
shakers even faster. Now get your instruments out and out your bows on the
D string. Try this motion and listen to your sound.
5. We are going to play 16th notes in the upper half of the bow. Let’s play
together. Now we are going to do that again, but we will slowly get faster
and faster. Let’s try it now. At a certain point, it becomes hard to play even
16th notes while going really fast and we stop counting. This is called
tremolo.

#15 Sul Tasto Definition: This literally means on touch, which means the
fingerboard. This refers to placement of the bow. The bow should be on the
fingerboard, which creates a light and airy sound.
1. Remember the bow lanes that we learned about a long time ago? Well today
we get today we get to play in lane one. This is right over the fingerboard.
 Everyone put your bow in lane one. Listen to how it sounds different from
lane three.
2. You are at home and your baby brother, or sister, or maybe your cat is asleep
next to you. You can’t wake them up, but you still have to practice. What do
you do? One way to play quietly is to move your bow over the fingerboard,
like this. Try it now. This is called sul tasto.
3. What does a mouse sound like? Is a mouse quiet or is it really loud? A
mouse is very quiet, so we are going to make a mouse sound today on our
instruments. To do this, we are going to move the bow to the fingerboard.
4. It is important to play very lightly while the bow is over the fingerboard.
Using too much weight will make the strings press against the fingerboard
and we will not get a clear sound.
5. To achieve a better tone, it is important to use a faster bow while playing sul
tasto since we cannot use a lot of weight.

#16 Sul Ponticello Definition: This literally means on the bridge. This refers to
placement of the bow. The bow should be on the bridge, which creates a thin and
scratchy sound.
1. Today we are going to play in lane five. This lane is right next to the bridge.
Everyone get set up and place your bow in lane five. Listen to how it sounds
different from lane three and lane one.
2. What do you usually sound like when you have a cold? How do you think
your instrument would sound if it had a cold? It would probably sound
scratchy and nasally. We can create this sound by playing with the bow next
to the bridge.
3. We are going to learn to make a spooky ghost sound on our instrument
today. We do this by playing right next to the bridge on the instrument. This
creates a thin and eerie sound. This is called sul ponticello. Sometimes it is
used in music to create certain sounds that are not always pleasant to listen
to.
4. It is important not to fall over the bridge. Watch where you are bowing and
make sure that your bow is straight. If your bow falls over to the other side
of the bridge, then you will get an unpleasant and squeaky sound.
 5. While playing sul ponticello, it is important to have a fast bow speed, light
weight, and flat bow hair. This helps create the best tone possible while right
next to the bridge.

#17 Collé Definition: This literally means glue. This is a bow technique that is
done by pronating or adding weight to the bow with the index finger. This
technique is used in many different types of bow strokes.
1. To better understand the relationship between collé and the sound it
produces, students can use a marker to draw on a piece of paper. Pretend that
the marker is your bow. When drawing a line, add a little bit of weight at the
beginning of the stroke. The section where extra weight was added should be
thicker. This is like what collé does to the sound.
2. I want you to pretend that your bow is stuck on your string. The only way to
release it is to pronate. Add a little bit of extra weight and then move the
bow. This is collé.
3. Pretend that you are very tired, and you start to fall asleep. As you start to
fall asleep, you suddenly wake up with a jolt once you realized that you were
nodding off. Collé is like when you jolt awake to keep yourself from falling
asleep. It is a quick motion that only lasts for a short time.
4. Pronating is a very important technique for collé. Pretend that you are
opening a doorknob with your right hand. We have practiced this before for
some of our other bow strokes.
5. Practice the motion of pronating while keeping the bow still on the strings.
Watch to make sure that you put in enough weight so that the hair and the
stick move closer together.

#18 String Crossings Definition: This is a right-hand skill with the bow that is done
by moving the arm to change strings.
1. Students are told that their bow is a boat rocking back and forth in the water.
There are gentle waves moving the boat. Students should mimic this in their
right arm by slowing moving it up and down. The bow should not make any
 sound. Students should feel where their arm positioned to play on each of
the strings.
2. We are going to the play the silent string crossing game. I will say the name
of an open string and you have to quietly rotate your bow to that string. Get
set up with a good bow hold and then we will begin. Put your bow on the A
string, now the D string, now G, etc.
3. Imagine a rocking chair moving back and forth. Now place your bow on the
string in lane three at the balance point. Pretend that your bow is a rocking
chair and gently rock back and forth across the different string.
4. Pretend that you are pouring a glass of water. Watch as your elbow and wrist
move. Now set down the pitcher and watch your elbow and wrist move
back. This is the same motion that you use to move your bow to a different
string.
5. The motion for string crossings comes from moving the elbow and also the
wrist. It is important not to use the shoulder to change strings. Using the
shoulder excessively can cause injury.

#19 Hand Frames Definition: Hand frames involve the left hand and the shapes
created between fingers in different keys. They create different variations of half
steps and whole steps. They are most important for violins and violas. Basses have
one hand frame and cellos have hand frames with and without extensions.
1. Hand frames are blueprints for different keys on different strings. The
blueprints tell you what shape your hand should be to play certain passages
or pieces.
2. Sometimes your fingers are best buddies, and they want to be right next to
each other. Other times, they get into arguments and don’t want to sit by
each other. For example, for our D major hand frame on the D and A strings,
our middle finger and ring finger are best friends. However, index finger and
pinky finger are upset at them and are far away.
3. While learning about hand frames, students will also learn about the
differences between half steps and whole steps. To create a half step for
violins and violas, fingers should be touching. To create a whole step, there
should be a space between the fingers.
 4. Cellos have different hand frames. They should first pretend like they are
holding a coke bottle. This is their normal hand frame. When they have an
extension, their hand frame become like the bass hand frame with the index
finger pointed up.
5. There is only one hand frame for basses. The hand and fingers should be
curved and relaxed with the index finger pointing up. To learn this hand
frame, basses can learn the bear claw hand or the bassist salute.

#20 Shifting Definition: This is a left-hand skill that involves moving the hand to a
new location on the neck of the instrument to reach a new position.
1. Harmonic shifting is a fun way to practice shifting. Everyone has natural
harmonics on their strings. Harmonics are overtones that we can create by
placing are fingers lightly in certain spots. If we split the string in half, we
will hear a sound an octave higher than the open string. Everyone try to find
this harmonic on your instrument. Now we are going to practice shifting to
it.
2. Pizza wrist is very bad for shifting. If you try to shift with a pizza wrist, you
will get stuck and will be unable to reach higher positions. Make sure that
your wrist is straight so you will not get stuck while trying to shift.
3. Today we are going to go on an adventure into the unknown lands of third
position. While we are traveling, we need to make sure that we all stay
together. We wouldn’t want anyone to get left behind in this strange
wilderness. When we shift, we need to make sure that our thumb does not
get left behind. It needs to travel with the rest of the hand.
4. It is very important to have a relaxed arm and relaxed hand while shifting. If
there is any tension, it will be very difficult to move your hand to shift.
Everyone shake out their arm to make sure that it is relaxed.
5. Shifting is like ice skating. While ice skating, your motions are very smooth
and if you are going to do any tricks, you have to be prepared ahead of time.

#21 Tone Production Definition: Bow weight, bow speed, and bow placement
affect the tone production of the instrument. It is important to find a good balance
of these factors to achieve good tone. It is also important for the left hand to fully
press down on the strings to produce a clear pitch.
1. Today we are going to bake a cake. This recipe for our cake has three
ingredients. This is called a tone cake and our ingredients are bow weight,
bow speed, and bow placement. Depending on how much of these
ingredients we use, we can get a different flavored cake. This is like our tone
production on our instruments. The variables of bow weight, bow speed, and
bow placement work together to create different tone qualities.
2. Lanes can affect our tone quality. Generally, lane three is the best lane to be
in because you will get a clear sound. Sometimes music calls for different
colors of sound. We can change lanes to create different tone qualities.
3. While driving a car, there are different speed limits for different roads. This
correlates to string instruments and bowing. To achieve different tone colors
and dynamics, you need to use different bow speeds.
4. Your bow is an elevator, and it has a weight limit. If too many try to get on
an elevator and they are too heavy, then it will not be able to function
properly. If we have to much weight on the bow, then it will not sound good,
and we will hear a crunchy sound.
5. There is not a perfect combination of bow weight, bow speed, and bow
placement to create one good tone. Music has different dynamics,
articulations, and phrasing with means we have to be flexible with these
skills. Good tone for one piece of music may not be desirable for another.

#22 Vibrato Definition: This is a left-hand skill that manipulates the pitch being
played. It typically involves arm and/or wrist motion to move the pitch either sharp
or flat.
1. There are two different types of vibrato. One is wrist vibrato and the other is
arm vibrato. Wrist vibrato is done by moving the wrist and arm vibrato is
done by moving the arm. Try out both types to figure out which is the most
comfortable for you.
2. Everyone make sure that you grab a maraca before you get to your seat.
Hold the bell of the instrument in your left hand and gently shake it.
Alternate between moving from your arm and moving from your wrist.
 These are the motions that you use for vibrato. You can also practice this at
home with a box of mints or candy or anything that will make a noise.
3. Pretend that you are a tree with branches gently swaying in the wind. Your
arms are your branches. Now with your left branch (arm), gently sway back
and forth. Make sure that the tree trunk stays steady as the branches gently
move back and forth.
4. Violins and violas, I want you to find a spot on the wall and place your
scroll against it. Now practice the vibrato motions that we have been
working on. This will make it easier because you do not have to worry about
holding up the weight of the instrument and your arm is more free to move.
5. Tension can make it very difficult to vibrate. The hand, wrist, and arm need
to be relaxed in order to smoothly move back and forth. If you feel any
tension while practicing vibrato, stop. Then shake out your hand and arm
and reset your posture while making sure to be relaxed.

Five Elective Topics

1st Elective Topic

Bass (German) Bow Hold Definition: This bow hold is different from the French
bow hold because the bows are shaped differently. The German bow has a larger
and taller frog than the French bow. The bow should be held mainly with the index
finger and the thumb at the top. The other fingers should gently curve and rest on
the frog.
1. Pretend that you are throwing a dart. Everyone throw their imaginary darts
now. Your first finger and thumb should be together. Now with this hand
shape, gently grab your German bow.
2. Put your index finger and thumb together and let the other fingers gently
separate. Now pretend that your hand is a jellyfish swimming through the
water. Your fingers are the tentacles pulsing through the water. Now grab
the bow and practice this motion while keeping your hand relaxed.
3. Think about holding a pencil. Now pick up your pencils and show how you
hold it. This is similar to how a German bow is held. Think of the stick and
 end screw as the pencil and hold it with your thumb and index finger. The
end screw (pencil) should rest on your hand in between those fingers.
4. Make the letter O with your thumb and index finger. Now move them
around while keeping them together. This is what your bow hold should
look like.
5. It would be beneficial to have both a German bow and a French bow in the
classroom. Students could identify what is different about the two bows.
They could then learn the differences in how they are held and why they are
different.

2nd Elective Topic

Pizzicato Definition: This right-hand technique is done without a bow. The strings
are plucked with the fingers to create a percussive sound.
1. Form the letter L with your right hand. Now place your thumb on the side of
the fingerboard. Use your index finger to pluck the string.
2. We have different lanes for bowing. To do pizzicato, we should not pluck in
any on these lanes. You should pluck with your index finger over the
fingerboard. If this were a lane, it would be lane zero since it is a little bit
further up than lane one.
3. Pizzicato should be more of a horizontal motion rather than a vertical
motion. Everyone make a vertical motion with your finger. Now make a
horizontal motion. Feel the difference between the two. Now pluck on the D
string with a horizontal motion.
4. Draw on oval with your right index finger. Now place your hand on the
instrument and pluck on the A string. Makes sure to draw ovals with your
finger as you pluck.
5. When plucking, it is important to use the side of your finger. This is because
there is there is a larger surface to catch the string. If you used the tip of the
finger, it will be more difficult to get a good sound.

3rd Elective Topic

Col Legno Definition: This literally means with the wood. This is a type of bowing
where the stick of the bow is played against the strings with a bouncing motion.
1. We are going to listen to a piece today called Mars. I want you to watch and
see if you notice any of the musicians doing something different with their
bows. Did you noticed how they played with the stick of their bow? This is
called col legno. Let’s try to play col legno on the A string together.
2. We are going to be like percussionists today. Everyone turn your bow upside
down. This is your drumstick. Now let’s gently drum on the D string
together. Notice how it sounds more like a percussion instrument rather than
a smooth string sound.
3. Everyone bend your thumb and then straighten it. This is called a thumb
pushup. Let’s try it on our bow. Notice when you straighten your thumb, the
stick of the bow moves towards you. With our straight thumb, we can play
of the stick of the bow.
4. Turn your bow upside down so that the stick touches the strings rather than
the hair. Make sure to turn the bow so that the stick is closer to your face.
5. When we are playing a col legno bow stroke, we want to play spiccato and
not détaché.

4th Elective Topic

Glissando Definition: This is a sliding sound that is created by moving a finger up
and down one string.
1. We are going to do some singing today. We are going to pretend to be a
siren that rises in pitch and then descends. I will demonstrate and then
everyone will sing with me. We can do this on our instruments. How do you
think we can replicate this? Let’s try this now. Everyone play with first
finger on the A string and gradually slide up and down.
2. How many of you have every been on a rollercoaster? While you are on a
rollercoaster, you move up and down really fast. This is like a glissando
where we move our finger up and down on the string. Let’s try this together.
3. A glissando is like a mountain. We start low and then gradually get higher
up as we climb it. Once we get to the top, we start to climb back down. For a
 glissando, our pitch starts low and then gets higher and then it goes back
down to where we started.
4. While we are playing a glissando, it is important to make sure we remember
our good posture for shifting. We should make sure that no finger gets left
behind and that the whole hand moves together.
5. A glissando can also start on a higher pitch and travel down. Let’s try this
now. Everyone shift up to a really high note on you’re a string and then slide
down.

5th Elective Topic

Martelé Definition: This is a type of bowing. There is an accent at the beginning of
the stroke that is achieved through pronation and added weight. The weight needs
to be immediately released after the initial stroke.
1. This bow stroke is similar to starting a car. You probably are not old enough
to drive yet, but have you ever sat in the front seat when someone starts the
car? After they turn the key, the engine revs up and is loud, but then dies
down and is quieter. How do you think we could achieve this sound on our
instruments? Yes, we can use a little bit of weight at the beginning of the
bow stroke. I will demonstrate. Now before we play, let’s practice the
motion. So, we need to pronate in our right hand. Set the bow on the string
at the balance point. Now practice pronating without moving the bow. See
how the stick moves to the bow hair. Remember to release quickly so that
we get the sound of our engine revving up. Now let’s try it with sound on
the D string.
2. Today we are going to create a storm with our bows. I want you to imagine
lightning striking the ground and the rumble of thunder that follows. I will
demonstrate. We should hear a flash of sound with the lightening strike and
then a low rumble of the thunder that follows.
3. Have you ever seen a movie with an explosion in it? What happens if a
character was somewhat close to the explosion? No, they were not close
enough to explode with it. Explosions create a really loud sound which can
damage your ears and create a soft ringing in them. It is important to protect
your hearing by wearing earplugs if you are going to be exposed to loud
 sounds. We are going to create and explosion effect on our instruments. We
need a short and very loud sound that is followed by softer continuous
sound.
4. To create a martelé stroke, it is important to think about the weight of the
right hand. To create the loud sound, there needs to be more weight in the
bow. The weight needs to be immediately taken off after the beginning of
the stroke.
5. Think about pushing someone on a swing. You push them and then they
swing away. When they come back, you push again. This is like the stroke
because you push and then release and then do it again.